Breve history of Liberia

Résumé du document

"American Darlings?, by Russell Blanks, and "Allah is not obliged?, by Ahmadou Kourouma, are two books which refer to the civil war in Liberia. After reading them, I wanted to try to better understand the problem and the scale of violence that has been observed in this country that was built in 1822 by an American company, so that the slaves who came back from America could live there.

Extraits

[...] Then, politically: the UN encouraged the action of the CEDEAO during the civil war and named a responsible to manage the negociations between the opposites. Then, the Security Council made an embargo on weappons. In 1993, they created a mission who had to observe the liberian situation. After having organized elections in 1997 (when Charles Taylor was elected), they gave all their support to the BANUL (organism created for keeping peace in Liberia). They finally decided, in 2003, after having noticed several troubles in the country, to send a military force which organized new elections. [...]

[...] There are big stakes in these countries: they are rich in minerals like copper or diamonds for example and this richness favors corruption. For example, Liberia has diamonds and gold mines. During the civil war in Liberia, these mines are worked by protected by child-soldiers. These abuse the local population by making them work without paying them enough. Nowadays, Liberia is a republic, which president is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. She is the first woman president in Africa and was elected at the end of 2005. The politic transition after the war was made under control of the UN. [...]

[...] They joined a group and become quickly lieutenants or generals. They were given food, clothes and hashish and others drugs and were made to feel as part of a family. In his book, Ahmadou Kourouma shows us life seen by a child soldier. Sometimes, children joined the army while their family (or part of their family) was still alive. They seemed to appreciate the army as an opportunity to become important and to be fed. They consider the other child-soldiers as brothers. [...]

[...] Each time, these facts appear normal, as an attribute of civil war. In 1980, Samuel Doe, a native Liberian, became the Liberia's president after a military coup. He quickly became a dictator, liquidating the opposition and establishing terror. Charles Taylor, who had been Doe's right hand man, became the leader of the opposition (NPFL) in 1989. During his stay in the government, he stole $ and escaped to the United States. He came back to Africa in 1985, possibly by way of Lybia's training camps, and entered Liberia in 1989. [...]

[...] Then, the civil war began. There were three groups in the country leaded by: Doe, Taylor and Prince Johnson. The economic community of the West African countries _CEDEAO_ sent an army to deal with the problem, named Ecomog,. Prince Johnson then murdered Doe while they were at a meeting. In 1997, a vote was organized under the control of the international force. Taylor was elected by 75% of the population. Liberia is a young country: it was built as a country in 1822 by an American company so that the slaves who came back from America could live there. [...]